Jews no longer permitted at West Bank holy site

June 13, 2007 9:00am

The mayor of a West Bank city said Jews are no longer allowed to pilgrimage there after several Muslim graves were desecrated last week.”This was desecration on top of desecration,” said the mayor of Kifl
Harit, Ahmed Bouzia, referring to the efforts of Israelis to clean up the vandalized headstones. Bouzia said Muslim graves can be repaired
only by Muslims.Last week, nine damaged headstones in the village cemetery were found covered in graffiti with phrases like “Death to Arabs.” The night before, 1,300 Jews prayed at the site, where biblical figures Yehoshua bin Nun and Caleb are believed to be buried. On Sunday, soldiers and pilgrimage organizers returned to fix the damaged headstones and paint over the graffiti.